Loud Silence
by UnluckyAmulet
Summary: They can't work it out, but there's something different about Kisa. Even her silence is different.


Hey, readers! Just to say this is my first Fruits Basket oneshot, and I don't own Fruits Basket.

Enjoy!

* * *

Whispers.  
The class were baffled, that much the teacher could tell easily when she came in. But then, so was she.  
The girl was sitting at her usual spot at the front of the class, arms folded over the desk, golden eyes fixed forwards, waiting patiently. The class had their eyes on her back.  
_Whisper, whisper, whisper._

Perplexed, but not wanting to draw attention to it, the teacher lifted up a pen and begun to write on the board.

The other children were indeed watching Kisa Sohma.  
Nobody was exactly sure where she'd gone for that week when she's supposedly 'run away'. But wherever she'd gone, it had sure done something weird to the Sohma girl.  
A couple of weeks ago, Kisa had sat in her little wooden chair, shoulders hunched, head down, avoiding eye-contact with everyone and her mouth clamped shut so hard it looked like her lips had vanished altogether.  
That had completely changed.  
There she was, shoulders back, head up, amber eyes straight ahead instead of wandering down to the top of the desk. Her mouth still remained firmly shut, but now it seemed to be merely with concentration, rather then fear or sadness. It was truly strange. After all, how much could have happened in a week?  
"Well, class, I've finished grading your papers on your short stories, and I must say, some very interesting stories came out of it!"  
A couple of children sat up a little straighter, a feeling of both hope and pride swelling within at the prospect of being praised on their paper. A couple of other children slumped, disappointment evident. The teacher started to hand out the papers, and small smiles or sighs followed this. Eventually, the teacher came to Kisa's desk.  
"Kisa, I was very impressed with your paper! Keep up the good work."  
Kisa reached forward and picked up her paper, her gold orbs scanning it. A tiny smile crept onto her face. A couple of girls who sat behind Kisa were watching. One or two of them craned their necks to try and see what kind of praise the red ink depicted, but they couldn't see. Kisa tucked the sheet of paper away, got out her notebook, and begun to write what the teacher was putting on the board. Puzzled, everybody else followed suit.

The lesson proceeded like it usually did. Things were written, questions were asked and notes were recorded. Then, as the teacher left to go get some more sugar-paper from the other room. Notes were passed around the room in her absence, the whispers turning into murmurs, like a hive of hornets.

"What do you think she got?"  
The class turned and looked at the speaker.  
The girl who had spoken blinked, unaware of having done anything wrong. Then the other kids relaxed. She was the new student, and as such had not really noticed Kisa and did not know the way the class worked.  
"You mean her?" one girl with bunches asked, nodding at the Sohma girl.  
A nod.  
"Why don't you go ask?"  
A few giggles followed this statement. The girl was just about to reply when the teacher came back in, and the students who had left their seats hurriedly scuttled back to them.

The lesson went on. Sun shone through the high windows, lighting up the dust that floated lethargically around in the air. A patch of strong yellow light hit Kisa's desk.  
Kisa squinted slightly, jerked her head. The new girl blinked, and since she sat behind Kisa, she also squinted.

Eyes focused on the Sohma girl, her hair shining in the warm golden glow.  
Somehow, she had changed.

And nobody could figure out how.

She wasn't any different from a couple of weeks ago. She still had her strangely coloured hair and eyes. She still had the same walk same face. But something was definitely different.

Perhaps it was the smile. The old Kisa never smiled like that. Back then, she simply withdrew inside herself, the isolation pressing down on her, causing fear and loneliness to come out in her eyes, eyes that would either be closed up, or staring balefully at the others, pain mingled with her tears. But now, she simply looked right through them when they whispered, kept her eyes straight ahead when they ignored her, and smiled secretly to herself about whatever it was she had found to give her this strange, secret joy.  
Or maybe it was the fact that now, no matter what they said or did both the class and Kisa knew; She'd never be affected by them in the same way again.

_BRRRNG!_

"Alright, class, it's time for recess!"

The class hurried out. Kisa took her time putting things away in her little brown bag, slotting the books in carefully. The new girl was taking her time as well; somebody had managed to tie her shoelaces together, quite tightly. When she had finally managed to undo them, Kisa was gone. The girl picked up her books and shoved them randomly into her bag and hurried outside.

* * *

Kisa sat on a bench on the side of the playground. She had a comic in her lap, and was reading it peacefully, her head down and the two yellow-orange bangs handing down on either side of her face.

Then, she heard the sound of footsteps and looked up, tucking one of her bangs behind her ear.

The new girl stood about a metre away from the bench, holding a squashy purple backpack to her chest. Kisa blinked at her.  
"Um..." the girl mumbled, blushing a little. "Can I...can I sit next to you?"

Kisa smiled and nodded. The girl seemed to take courage from this, and sat down beside Kisa, looking from her to the magazine in her lap.

"What's that you're reading?"

"It's Mogeta." Kisa replied quietly, lifting the comic to show her. "I've seen the anime, but I wanted to read the manga too."

The new girl nodded, her dark glossy hair ruffled by the wind. She had two purple braids in her two front bangs.

"You're new, right?" Kisa asked her now, an innocent curiosity in her eyes.  
"What's your name?"

"It's Maro. Maro Nazuka." replied the girl, grinning at Kisa. "What's yours?"  
"Kisa Sohma."  
"That's a nice name." Maro smiled, and Kisa smiled back.  
"Yours is really nice, too."

Maro turned and dug something out of her bag. She pulled out a small white box, and offered it to Kisa.  
"Want one? They're Ragi chocolates, but I can't eat them all by myself."  
"Sure." Kisa smiled. Maro laughed a little, her dark greyish-blue eyes becoming slits.

A little further away, the teacher, who had been watching this scene through the blinds of her classroom, let the gap she had created drop, and returned to her desk, a small smile on her own face.

Yes. Kisa Sohma had definitely changed.

She still did not speak in class, but it was a different silence then from before.  
The silence was loud. And it made the class shut up and take notice.

It was more powerful then words could be.

* * *

Ta-da! So, did anybody spot the two references I put in there? 'Nazuka' is the last name of Kisa's Japanese voice actor, and Ragi is where Kisa's name is derived from: _Kisaragi_, which is the second month of the Japanese Lunar Calender.

Hope you liked it. Reviews are good.


End file.
